Auger ice maker



April 12, 1966 o. J. WALLACE AUGER ICE MAKER Filed June 1i, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 a h II K laj FIG.

INVENTOR.

ORVILLE J. WALLACE,

wir

ATTORNEYS April 12, 1966 o. J. WALLACE AUGER ICE MAKER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June ll 1962 INVENTOR. ORVILLE J- WAL LACE FIG.

ATTORNEYS FIG. 4

April 12, 1966 o. J. WALLACE 3,245,225`

I AUGER ICE MAKER Filed June l1 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. O RVILLE J. WALLACE A TTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,245,225 AUGER ICE MAKER Orville J. Wallace, 934 Scott Ave., Kansas City, Kans. Filed June 11, 1962, Ser. No. 201,685 4 Claims. (Cl. 62-320) This invention relates to an improved ice making machine. More particularly, this invention relates to a continuously operating, automatic, ice making machine that produces uniform but variable sized relatively dry ice chunks.

One type of ice making machine in present use consists of a device for freezing ice on the internal surface of a vertical cylindrical barrel, shearing this ice from the wall of the freezing barrel and forcing it upwardly through the open end of the freezing barrel by means of a driven auger centrally located within the barrel and chipping or breaking the thus formed ice by means of a bevelled block or conically shaped member positioned at or near the upper open end of the freezing barrel. These known machines require a top and bottom auger support bearing. The top bearing must necessarily be located in the ice chamber and is, therefore, subjected to the cold vtemperature of the ice chamber.

The top auger support bearing of such known type machines alternately warms and cools as the machine is used. This causes condensation within the bearing resulting in the gradual expulsion of the bearing lubricant and ultimate bearing failure.

It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an ice making machine obviating the need for an upper auger support bearing thereby eliminating one of the major causes of ice machine failure.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved ice making machine including -a floating auger that forces the ice upward and out of the freezing drum.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ice making machine including an auger of an improved 'configuration that will not bind inside the freezing drum.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ice making machine including an improved means located at the top thereof for chipping or breaking the produced ice into relatively uniform but variable Sized ice chunks.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improvide ice making machine that produces relatively dry chunks of ice.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ice making machine utilizing a vertical freezing drum and an auger rotated therein including means whereby the trapping of air in the freezing compartments formed between the auger and the freezing drum is eliminated, thereby improving the ice producing capactity of the machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ice making machine utilizing a vertical freezing drum and an auger rotated therein, including an improved ice forming member, which may be easily adjusted to produce different sized chunks of ice.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

FIGURE l is a cut away View of an ice cabinet including the ice making machine of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical, partial sectional view of the ice making machine of this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the auger and the freezing drum of the ice makice ing machine of this invention showing improved auger configurations.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the auger and freezing drum of the ice making machine of this invention showing further embodiments of the improved auger configurations.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the top of the ice making machine with the ice forming member removed.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5, showing in cross-section the top portion of the auger with the ice forming member in place.

FIGURE 7 is a top view of the ice forming member.

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional View of an alternate embodiment of the ice forming member of the ice making machine of this invention.

v Description.

Ice cabinet or chest 10 or FIGURE l is composed generally of an insulated ice storage compartment 12 and instrument compartment 14. Storage compartment 12 is surrounded on all sides by thick insulated walls 16 except for area 15 which is closed by an appropriately insulated door (not shown). The entire chest 10 is mounted upon an integral reinforced base 18.

Included within instrument compartment 14 and extending verticallyto a point slightly Within an upper horizontal section 13 of storage compartment 12 is the ice making machine 20. Ice making machine 20 and its drive motor 22 are mounted upon a fixed horizontal platform 24. Support brace 26 extends vertically from base 18 to platform 24.

Located beneath platform 24 is a conventional mechanical refrigeration system consisting of condenser 28 and compressor 30, interconnected by conduit 29. Conduit 32 conducts a liquid refrigerant from condenser 28 to ice making machine 20 and conduit 34 carries the gasied refrigerant from ice making machine 20 to compressor 30 for reliquecation.

The water from which the ice is made is conducted from a source (not shown) through a float valve 36 and water conduit 38 into the freezing drum of ice making machine 20.

The physical arrangement of the ice cabinet 10 as shown in FIGURE l is by way of example only. Such arrangement is not a part of this invention, the invention residing in the ice making machine 2t) and the components thereof, as shown in FIGURES 2 through 8.

For a specific description of ice making machine 20 reference is now made rst to FIGURE 2. Machine 20 consists of an upper ice freezing portion 49 and a lower reduction gear drive pontion 42. Freezing portion 4l) consists of freezing drum 44 coaxially surrounded by cylindrical sleeve 46 and having disposed coaxially inside thereof a oating auger 47.

Downwardly and outwardly sloping upper annular member 4S and upwardly and outwardly sloping lower annular member 50 connect freezing drum 44 and sleeve 46 to form an annular refrigerant expansion chamber 52 coaxially surrounding freezing drum 44. :Lowe-r annular member 50 is sloped upwardly and outwardly from the bottom end of freezing drum 44 in order to space the freezing portion 46 of machine 20 a substantial distance above reduction gear d-rive portion 42 and water inlet conduit 38. This is necessary in order to prevent freezing the water in the conduit 38, before it enters freezing drum 44.

Annular ange 49 extends radially outward from .the bottom end of freezing drum 44 for connection to reduction gear drive portion 42 yas by stud bolts and nuts 56 and 58, respectively. Gasket 51 is located between flange 49 and reduction gear drive portion 42 to seal against water leakage from the freezing drum and to give added thermal insulation between the freezing portion 40 and the reduction gear drive portion 42.

The water from which the ice is made is conducted to the machine through water conduit 38 from a source (not shown). A connectional float valve 36 (see FIG- URE l) is located in water conduit 38 to control the liquid level within the freezing drum 44 and prevent overflow therefrom. It should be noted that water conduit 38 extends horizontally a short distance Within flange 49 and is then directed downwardly into a grooved passage 53 in gasket 51 that extends into the bottom portion of the freezing drum 44.

Freezing drum 44 extends longitudinally beyond upper closure member 48 a suflicient distance to protrude slightly into the horizontal section 13 lof ice storage chamber 12 of cabinet 10 (FIGURE l).

Removably attached to the open end face 60 of the extended portion of freezing drum 44 and extending parallel to that drum is an annular row of small diameter, relatively short, pins 62, the use of which will be further described hereinafter. As a means of mounting, these pins may be screw threaded into corresponding holes in the open end face 60 of freezing drum 44.

Located coaxially and rotatably within freezing drum 44 is an auger 47. Auger 47 is mechanically connected to and driven by reduction gear drive 42 through connecting shaft 72 which is sealed to prevent the escape of water from freezing drum 44 into gear box 42.

It should be noted at this point that thrust bearings (not shown) within the gear box 42 is the only support afforded auger 47. Thus, neither an upper or lower bearing is required to support the auger 47 according to the principles of this invention. In other words, there are no bearings located in the cold zone and subjected to moisture conditions and other factors which have resulted in frequent failures of known types of ice making machines.

Auger 47 is provided with a helical flange 76 that extends the full length of the auger. The uppermost full turn of helical flange 76 is provided with a series of annularly spaced longitudinally extending perforations 78. These perforations allow any Water carried upwardly as auger 47 rotates to drain back into freezing drum 44 thereby resulting in the production of relatively dry ice chunks.

Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4, there are shown various configurations of auger flange 76. The configuration of the top and bottom faces of the auger flange is not critical to this invention. These faces m-ay be substantially curved as shown in FIGURE 3 or relatively flat as shown in FIGURE 4. However, of particular importance to this invention is the configuration of the outer peripheral edge 77 of auger flange 76.

In operation, as the auger 47 rotates it continually slides an ice sheath from the interior surface of freezing drum 44 upwardly. A plurality of vertical grooves (not shown) may be provided .in the interior surface of the freezing drum 44 to prevent rotation of the ice sheath, allowing only vertical movement of the ice sheath.

There always exists a thin sheath of ice between the peripheral edge 77 of auger flange 76 and the interior surface of the freezing drum 44. Therefore, as auger 47 rotates, its helical peripheral edge 77 is in constant rubbing contact with this sheath of ice which tends to build in thickness as the sheath of ice progresses upwards. This build up of ice against peripheral edges 77 exerts great pressure on auger 47. In order to prevent binding and stoppage of rotation of auger 47 by this ice sheath it has been learned that the deleterious effect of such ice build up is substantially eliminated 'by providing a minimal point of contact between the peripheral edge 77 of the auger flange 76 and the ice sheath. This may be accomplished in several ways.

The upper flange 76 of FIGURE 3 has the peripheral edge 77 recessed inwardly towards the lower end of auger 47 The lower flange 76 of FIGURE 3 has the peripheral edge 77 recessed as a radius. The upper flange 76 of FIGURE 4 has the peripheral edge 77 recessed both downwardly and upwardly from a center point. The lower flange 76 of FIGURE 4 shows the peripheral edge: 77 recessed upwardly. All of these various configura-f tions of the peripheral edge 77 of auger flange 76 are examples of different ways a minimal point of contact between the peripheral edge 86 and ice frozen on the inside wall of freezing drum 44 may `be obtained. The configuration of the peripheral edge 77 of the upper flange 76 of FIGURE 3 is considered the optimum ernbodiment.

In known types of ice making machines utilizing angers, as shown in FIGURE 2, the auger flange 76 terminates in a flat surface parallel the auger axis. When the auge-r 47 rotates, ice which is formed on the inside walls of freezing drum 44, is forced upwardly, and builds in increased thickness, exerting great pressure on the auger 47. When Abearings are utilized at each end of auger 47 such pressure may be tolerated, but when a floating auger 47 is utilized, as in this invention, it was found that the auger 47 would be invariably forced to one side or the other by ice build up, making the use of a floating auger unfeasible. The discovery of the means eliminating the pressure build up by providing peripheral edges 77 of auger flange 76 of minimal crosssectional area makes possible the ice making machine of this invention utilizing a floating auger.

Referring now to FIGURES 6, 7 and 8, the upper portion of the ice making machine 2i) is best shown. The Ibottom portion 8S of ice forming member 86 is provided with a centrally located depending shank 90 that is inserted into a central bore 92 in the upper end of auger 47. Screw or bolt 94 extends through a central bore in bottom portion 88 and shank 90 into a threaded counterbore in the bottom of bore 92 to releasalbly attach member 86 to auger 47. Upwardly and outwardly tapering walls 96 of ice forming member 86 extend above the top open end 60 of freezing drum 44. Therefore, as the cylindrical ice sheath is forced upwardly out yof freezing drum 44 it will contact walls 96 of ice forming member l86 and be formed into ice chunks and discharged from the open end of the drum. Washer-type spacer gaskets 98 can be placed between ice forming member 86 and auger 47 to raise member 86 relative to auger 47, thereby varying (increasing) the thickness of the produced ice chunks.

As auger 47 rotates, a continuous sheath of ice is forced upwardly to encounter walls 96 of ice forming member 86. The upper open end face 60 of freezing drum 44 preferably terminates in an inner taper (see FIGURE 6). The distance between the face 96 of ice forming member 86 and end face 60 is less than the distance between auger 47 `and the inner wall of freezing drum 44 so that ice forced upwardly by auger 47 is compressed and compacted into a mass.

Ice formed as a sheath within freezing drum 44 is soft and very wet as the freezing drum is maintained substantially full of water. As the soft ice is forced upwardly it is compacted into a hardened mass of ice substantially free of excess water. The compacted ice is broken into chunks as the ice is expelled from the machine. The resultant chunks of ice, being compressed and relatively dry, have a greatly reduced tendency to freeze to each other while in the storage compartment of the machine.

In order to control the size of the chunks of ice which are formed, pins 62 are positioned in the upper end surface 60 of freezing drum 44. Expelled ice must pass between pins 62 which separates the formed ice and breaks the ice into chunks, therefore, the closer pins.

62 are spaced, the smaller will be the chunks of ice ejected.

To further assist in breaking up the compacted ice forced upwardly and outwardly iby the rotation of auger 47, bolts 100 may be positioned in the ice forming member 86 (see FIGURES 6 and 7). These protruding bolts 100 encounter the compacted ice as auger 47 rotates to lbreak the ice into smaller chunks or pieces. The effectiveness of the bolts 100 to produce smaller pieces of ice may be increased by threadably extending the bolts so tha-t the ends thereof travel closer to pins 62. Increasing the number lof bolts 100 utilized also provides greater breaking action to produce smaller pieces of ice if `such is desired.

Thus, it can be seen that the size of ice chunks formed may be changed by (l) varying the number or thicknesses of spacer gaskets which varies -the thickness of the chunks; (2) varying the number, thus varying the space :between pins 62; and (3) varying the number and degree of extension of bolts 100. All of these three adjustments may be easily made by the user of the machine so that a variety of sizes of ice may be obtained ranging from large thick chunks down to Very small chunks. Although, as mentioned, the size of the produced ice chunks may be varied in the three ways above mentioned, the means which is normally used -by the operator of the machine will be to retard bolts 100 when larger chunks are required and to advance bolts 100 when smaller chunks are required.

An improved alternate design `of the ice forming member 86' is shown in cross-section in FIGURE 8. In this embodiment the sides 96A of ice forming member 86, instead of being straight as shown in FIGURE 6, are curved outwardly. This arrangement provides a means whereby the advancing sheath of ice encounters a curved surface 96A which tends to direct the path of the pieces of ice in an arcuate path to more desirably distribute the produced ice Within the storage compartment l12.

It has been found that air tends fto accumulate Within the freezing drum y44 thereby displacing some of the water from this drum and reducing the productivity of the ice making machine 20. In order to prevent this undesired air accumulation, yair venting means is provided in auger 47. This air venting means consists of one or more vertical conduits 102, extending substantially through the entire -length of lauger 47, that are connected to the freezing space within Afreezing drum 44 by a plurality of horizontal, radially directed conduits 104. These horizontal conduits v104 are spaced vertically over the entire length of the auger 47. The vertical conduit 102 is open to the atmosphere at the top of ice forming member 86. It has been found that when using such an air venting means the productivity of the ice making machine 20 is substantially increased.

Operation In the operation of this ice making machine, Water is introduced through float valve 36, conduit 38 and grooved passage 53 into the bottom portion of freezing drum 44. Float valve 36 controls the water level in freezing drum 44 and prevents `overflow therefrom. Liquid refrigerant is then introduced through conduit 32 into expansion chamber 52 where it vaporizes, thus producing the necessary reduction in temperature in the freezing drum 44. Gaseous refrigerant is removed from expansion chamber 52 and conducted through conduit 34 to the refrigeration system for reliquecation. As auger 47 is rotated, the cylindrical ice sheath formed in freezing drum 44 is forced upwardly out of the open end of the drum. When this ice sheath contacts the ice forming member 86, attached to the top of auger 47, it is compacted and broken into chunks as it is discharged from the machine. The distance that member 86 is positioned above auger 47 will determine the size of the ice chunks produced; that is, the greater the distance, the larger the ice chunks. 'I'he size of the ice chunks ultimately discharged from machine 20 is further controlled by the annular spacing between pins 62 (the greater the spacing, the larger the size of ice chunks). Pins 62 separate the compacted ice into chunks as it is discharged from the machine. Smaller ice chunks may be achieved by spacing pins `62 closer together or by extending bolts 100. The thickness of the produced ice chunks is controlled by the number of gaskets 9S utilized. Clearly then, this ice making machine pro vides an easily variable control of the size of the ice chunks produced. Any water that is carried upwardly by the ice sheath ows downwardly through perforations 78 in the top auger flange 76 into the freezing drum 4'4. Therefore, the ice chunks that are ultimately discharged from machine 20 are relatively dry so there is a reduced tendency for the ice chunks to freeze together in the ice bin.

The invention has been described by reference to specific and preferred embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that many modifications lcan be made Without departing from the spirit `and scope of the invention. Accordingly, this invention should be construed not to be limited to the embodiment herein described but should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an ice-chip producing apparatus, a cylindrical freezing drum having an open upper end, means operatively connected to said cylindrical drum for directing Water into said cylindrical drum and forming a lm of ice on the inner periphery thereof, auger means journaled for rotation axially on said cylindrical drum and including a helical scraper blade portion for removing and elevating the ilm of ice within said drum, said scraper blade portion terminating at the open end of said cylindrical drum, an ice-fhn compaction member secured to the upper end of the auger means and including an annular, upwardly and outwardly projecting flange from the upper end of said auger means and immediately over the upper open end of said cylindrical drum, said drum including circumferentially spaced members extending longitudinally from the open end thereof and disposed laterally of the outwardly projecting flange of said ice-film compaction member for receiving compacted ice therebetween, said auger means including internal venting conduits opening into the upper end thereof and communicating laterally therebeneath in longitudinally spaced relation with the interior of said drum.

2. An ice making machine for producing relatively unform but variable sized, substantially dry ice chunks comprised of:

a substantially cylindrical freezing drum;

means for introducing water into said drum;

refrigeration means associated with said drum for imparting thereto a freezing temperature for producing a thin cylindrical ice sheath on the inside surface of said drum;

a driven means comprising an auger disposed coaxially within said drum for slipping said ice sheath from the freezing surface of said drum and moving said slipped ice sheath toward the discharge end of said drum;

a driving means located adjacent the end of said drum opposite the discharge end for supporting said auger;

means adjustably attached to the discharge end of said driven means for forming and compacting said ice into ice chunks and discharging said ice chunks from said machine;

means located on the discharge end of said drum operating in association with said ice forming and discharging means for maintaining a variable predetermined upper limit on the size of said ice chunks discharged from said machine, and means for venting air from within said freezing drum,vsaid means consisting of an internal primary conduit extending over substantially the entire length of said driven means and open at one end to the atmosphere, and a plurality of secondary conduits extending radially from said primary conduit, through the body of said driven means, into flow communication with the inside of said drum, said secondary conduits being spaced over substantially the entire length of said driven means.

3. In an ice-chip producing apparatus, a cylindrical freezing drum having an open upper end, means operatively connected to said cylindrical drum for directing water into said cylindrical drum and forming a film of ice on the inner periphery thereof, auger means journaled for rotation axially on said cylindrical drum and including a helical scraper blade portion for removing and elevating the film of ice within said drum, said scraper blade portion terminating at the open end `of said cylindrical drum, an ice-film compaction member secured to the upper end of auger means and including an annular, upwardly and outwardly projecting ange from the upper end of said auger means and immediately over the upper open end of said cylindrical drum, said drum including circumferentially spaced members extending longitudinally from the open end thereof and disposed laterally of the outwardly projecting flange of said ice-film compaction member for receiving compacted ice therebetween, spacer means removably retained between the upper end of said auger means and said ice-compaction member for adjusting the distance between the open end of said drum and the opposed surface of said flange of said ice-compaction member, said ice-film compaction member including a plurality of compacted ice-breaking elements projecting toward the open end of said drum member and terminating thereabove, said compacted ice-breakingelements comprising adjustable screw elements.

4. In an ice-chip producing machinek having refrigeration means for producing ice,

(1) a rotatable auger adapted upon rotation to discharge ice formed in said machine,

(2) a head member mounted for rotation with said auger,

(3) said head member having a surface thereon cooperating with said machine to dei-ine a discharge opening therein,

(4) a chip breaking member movably mounted within and for rotation with said head member, and

(5) said chip breaking member being movable from a position Within said surface to a position wherein it extends from said surface into said discharge opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,288,864 12/1918 Fowler 10D-146 X 1,686,096 10/1928V Manning 100-117 X 2,474,730 6/ 1949 Espinasse et al.

2,753,694 7/1956 Traw et al. 62-354 2,825,209 3/1958 Nelson et al. 62-354 2,962,878 12/ 1960 Keller 62-820 27,986,902 6/ 1961 Michener 62-347 3,002,361 10/1961 Whetstone 62-354 3,034,311 5/1962 Nelson 62--354 3,035,420 5/ 1962 Stoelting 62-354 FOREIGN PATENTS 883,026 11/ 1961 Great Britain. 1,116,666 12/1954 France.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner. 

4. IN AN ICE-CHIP PRODUCING MACHINE HAVING REFRIGERATION MEANS FOR PRODUCING ICE, (1) A ROTATABLE AUGER ADAPTED UPON ROTATION OF DISCHARGE ICE FORMED IN SAID MACHINE, (2) A HEAD MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION WITH SAID AUGER, (3) SAID HEAD MEMBER HAVING A SURFACE THEREON COOPERATING WITH SAID MACHINE TO DEFINE A DISCHARGE OPENING THEREIN, (4) A CHIP BREAKNG MEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED WITHIN AND FOR ROTATION WITH SAID HEAD MEMBER, AND (5) SAID CHIP BREAKING MEMBER BEING MOVABLE FROM A POSITION WITHIN SAID SURFACE TO A POSITION WHEREIN IT EXTENDS FROM SAID SURFACE INTO SAID DISCHARGE OPENING. 